In a pinch, Adam McQuaid provides some offense

Credit: Matt West

Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid lays the wood on Chicago Blackhawks center Andrew Shaw in the first period in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals at United Center on Saturday, June 15, 2013.

Adam McQuaid isn’t in the Bruins lineup for his offensive efficiency.

Admittedly, offense is one of the last things on his mind and perhaps one of the last things you think of with the defenseman. In 190 career regular-season games, McQuaid has seven goals to go along with 23 assists.

But on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks, he recorded the biggest assist of his life on Daniel Paille’s overtime goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals.

This 26-year-old isn’t known as a high-scoring defenseman, but he has produced his best offensive performances during postseason games.

“First and foremost, I’m always thinking defensively,” McQuaid said. “I don’t want to get caught pinching or trying to keep a puck in or something and have it get by for an odd-man rush. You try and assess the situations. If you feel like you can keep the puck in or make a play, you try and do that.”

That’s exactly what McQuaid did in Saturday’s overtime period. Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook sent the puck around the back of Chicago’s net. The puck slid to Brandon Bollig, but it bounced off his stick in front of the blue line and McQuaid was there to keep it in play. McQuaid immediately sent a pass to Tyler Seguin, who set up Paille’s winner at 13:48.

“I just remember the puck had been rimmed around and I was trying to get over there in case I could have a chance to keep it in. That’s kind of what ended up happening,” McQuaid said. “It kind of bounced over to me. Normally in that situation I’d try to slam back in deep. I saw (Seguin) there so I just tried to get it to him and he made a great pass to (Paille), who made a great shot.”

McQuaid made a similar play in the B’s run to the Cup in 2011. In the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Montreal Canadiens, McQuaid helped set up the game-winner in overtime of Game 7 by pinching in to keep a puck in the offensive zone. He eventually got the puck to Milan Lucic, who passed to Nathan Horton for the series-ending goal.

After scoring once in the regular season this year, McQuaid has scored his first two career playoff goals this postseason. He was the hero in Game 4 of the conference finals, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win that completed a sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“It’s an exciting time of year, no question. You want to enjoy the situation,” he said. “You also want to make sure you make the most of it because it doesn’t come around too often.”